Best Indian and Pakistani Schools in Dubai, 2017

In what follows, we set out the landscape of Indian and Pakistani school provision in Dubai. The guide is designed very much as a springboard for you to locate individual school reviews, but also to swiftly narrow down key options, including choice of curriculum and schools by KHDA rating. We recommend reading this Guide in conjunction with the review of Top Indian Schools in Dubai by our sister site, whichschooladvisor.com which can be found here.

Background

There are 33 Indian schools in Dubai, educating 79,844 students and two Pakistani schools educating 2,863 students. A further new school, GEMS Heritage Indian School, is set to open in Al Khail and we will be updating parents on this shortly.

Positively, 65% of children attend schools rated by the Dubai Inspectorate of Schools as “Good”, the minimum expected standard for any school operating in Dubai, or better.

However, 35% of children attending Indian schools, approximately 28,000 children, are not receiving the minimum expected standard of education expected by the Dubai Inspectorate of Schools – and all children in Pakistani schools are, on KHDA terms, being failed on this minimum standard.

Standout KHDA “Outstanding” schools

There are two stand-out schools in Dubai: GEMS Modern Academy offering the CISCE curriculum and The Indian High School offering the CBSE curriculum. Both schools have achieved the KHDA’s highest “Outstanding” rating consistently through six annual inspections between 2011-12 and 2016-17.

Parents seeking the CISCE curriculum have extremely limited options – only two other schools in Dubai, apart from GEMS Modern Academy, offer it: The Ambassador School (which also has an ISCE Kindergarten feeder) and JSS International School.

Both of these schools are rated Good by the KHDA. All other Indian curriculum schools in Dubai are CBSE. To understand the strengths and weaknesses of each curriculum we have published Guides.

Our Guide to the CISCE Indian School Certificate (ISC) can be found here.

Our Guide to the CBSE All India Secondary School Examination (AISSE) can be found here.

The top three CBSE schools, excepting the “Outstanding” Indian High School, are all rated by the KHDA as “Very Good” schools – and all have outstanding features: Delhi Private School, GEMS Our Own English High School and The Millennium School.

There are 5 remaining all-through schools, all offering the CBSE syllabus, rated by the KHDA as offering a “Good” standard of education: GEMS New Millennium School; GEMS Our Own Indian School; Our Own High School; Rajagiri International School Dubai; and, The Indian High School – Al Garhoud.

There is one pre-school, The Kindergarten Starters, which also meets this standard offering the CBSE. In terms of choice, parents seeking a stand-alone Indian pre-school have a choice between only two schools meeting the Dubai Inspectorate of Schools minimum “Good” standard: the CBSE Kindergarten Starters or the ISCE Ambassador Kindergarten.

Schools that currently do not meet “Good” school standards of provision

Of the remaining schools, all CBSE curriculum, none achieve the minimum “Good” standard of provision expected by the KHDA. Rated “Acceptable” these include BUDS Public School; Credence High School; Elite English School; Gulf Indian High School; Little Flowers English School; New Indian Model School; Sabari Indian School LLC; Springdales School LLC; The Central School; The Indian Academy; and, The Indian International School – Dubai Silicon Oasis.

It should be noted that Springdales School, we think, lies on the cusp of a “Good” school rating and was downgraded in 2016-17 mainly because of the challenges the school has faced in growing rapidly.

Our review of The Indian International School – Dubai Silicon Oasis can be found here.

5 schools currently operate at a “Weak” level of provision, just above the level at which any school is placed in special measures as failing children: Bilva Indian School; Crescent English School; Emirates English Speaking School; Gulf Model School; and H. H. Shaikh Rashid Al Maktoum Pakistani School-Dubai.

Indian and Pakistani Schools – the complete list

Indian Schools

KHDA Outstanding

GEMS Modern Academy CISCE
The Indian High School – Oud Metha CBSE

KHDA Very Good

Delhi Private School CBSE
GEMS Our Own English High School CBSE
The Millennium School CBSE

KHDA Good

Ambassador Kindergarten ICSE
Ambassador School CISCE
GEMS New Millennium School CBSE
GEMS Our Own Indian School CBSE
JSS International School CISCE
JSS Private School LLC CBSE
Our Own High School CBSE
Rajagiri International School Dubai CBSE
The Indian High School – Al Garhoud CBSE
The Kindergarten Starters (KHDA Good) CBSE

KHDA Acceptable

BUDS Public School CBSE
Credence High School CBSE
Elite English School CBSE
Gulf Indian High School CBSE
Little Flowers English School CBSE
New Indian Model School CBSE/KSB
Sabari Indian School LLC CBSE
Springdales School LLC CBSE
The Central School CBSE
The Indian Academy CBSE
The Indian International School – Dubai Silicon Oasis CBSE

KHDA Weak

Bilva Indian School CBSE
Crescent English School CBSE
Emirates English Speaking School CBSE
Gulf Model School CBSE